Obesity - Global Warming-deficit- Obamacare
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As I plan to join an (ending) obesity campaign in the near future...
I'd like to bring this topic up from a different Angle.
I believe obesity is one of the most important epidemics facing our...
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Do you agree with this?
Among Rasmussen's findings, reported by The Washington Examiner : 74 percent of the poor own a car or truck; 70 percent have a VCR; 64 percent have a DVD player; 63 percent have cable or satellite TV; 53 percent have a video game system; 50 percent have a computer; 30 percent have two or more cars; and 23 percent use TiVo.

I don't doubt that. Many of today's poor were yesterday's middle and upper middle class. I am sure they had all those things before the company shut the doors. I'm sure many also sold a few of the things to make ends meet. I'm sure the car or truck is not brand new. Nowadays, with so much being on the internet, most people own a computer (a lot of jobs only accept applications on line). More and more are actually getting rid of cable and satellite and getting cheap internet and then Netflix or Hulu (much cheaper alternatives).

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I also would like to add, that while I do believe obesity is a problem, we need to be very careful in our education especially to women. A healthy BMI should be stressed and we need to stay away from images that perpetuate and distort how a woman should or shouldn't look. It is interesting that the higher an income that a man achieves, the more tendency to obesity. But the lower an income a woman receives, the higher tendency to obesity. Our culture is obsessed by how a woman should look. We need to really smash these ideas and encourage our daughters to develop healthy body images and self esteem.

What do you think the answer to the obesity problem is? You seem to question all available data as if it somehow doesn't meet your views. If education were the only solution, then we would all be rich, successful and skinny.

I agree. It's very hard and there is not just one solution. It's gotten so out of control that I believe it's going to be critical that role models step up to the plate.

I don't doubt that. Many of today's poor were yesterday's middle and upper middle class. I am sure they had all those things before the company shut the doors. I'm sure many also sold a few of the things to make ends meet. I'm sure the car or truck is not brand new. Nowadays, with so much being on the internet, most people own a computer (a lot of jobs only accept applications on line). More and more are actually getting rid of cable and satellite and getting cheap internet and then Netflix or Hulu (much cheaper alternatives).

So how big do you think the problem is where people don't have transportation or a store in their area?

I also would like to add, that while I do believe obesity is a problem, we need to be very careful in our education especially to women. A healthy BMI should be stressed and we need to stay away from images that perpetuate and distort how a woman should or shouldn't look. It is interesting that the higher an income that a man achieves, the more tendency to obesity. But the lower an income a woman receives, the higher tendency to obesity. Our culture is obsessed by how a woman should look. We need to really smash these ideas and encourage our daughters to develop healthy body images and self esteem.

I agree. I think instead of having stick thin stars twirking on stage, there should be several on tv/media talking about obesity and showing people how to test for obesity.

Children - continue to get BMI done at school or doctors- teachers /nurses/doctors educate student and parents.

Adult measurements: Waist measurement/circ is a better predictor of diabetes than BMI and a good indicator of heart disease- navel level is widely accepted.
The cut off for women was 35" and for men 40"

There is also the waist to hip ratio that I'd like to see tv/media role models demonstrate:
Take waste and divide by hips. The cut off "good ratio" for women 0.85 and for men 0.90

So how big do you think the problem is where people don't have transportation or a store in their area?

I don't know. I know that the majority of patients on medicaid that come into my ER don't have a car. In the city where I live, the majority of big grocery stores are in the suburbs. There is one big grocery store on each side of the city. Unless you live right by those stores, you would have to take a bus to get there (if you didn't have a car). Most of the poorest people we see live in the inner city. While there are corner stores on every corner, their inventory is limited. So in my area, it is a problem.

I should also say that where I live, you go five miles in any direction and you are stepping in cow manure. In these outlying areas there are no grocery stores except for maybe a small green grocer store. Prices in these stores is usually higher than the big grocery stores. While most people in the outer lying areas have transportation, they still have to drive a ways to get the store.

I live in the suburbs. It's not a big town, but there are 3 large grocery stores within a 2 mile radius. There's no public transportation, but most everyone has a car, so access to food shouldn't be an issue. It's also a solid middle class area. For most, money isn't an issue, but our town food pantry has been busier than ever this year. They only stock non-perishables, so fresh produce isn't available. Go 15 miles southeast to where I work. It's a city, composed primarily of low income families. There are 2 or 3 grocery stores in a large geographic area that are accessible by bus, but as Pud pointed out before, how much can you carry on the bus? I know many families do not have cars, as they time their appointments around the bus schedules. So, I think in certain areas transportation is a real problem. It's also a problem for the elderly in many areas. If you don't drive, don't have a friend or relative who can take you, or public transportation is unavailable or unsafe (as it can be in the city I work in-people are mugged all the time) you're limited in where you can get food. It's usually the local convenience store, which is expensive and has limited choices. Their incomes are often fixed and limited, so they're going to go with the cheapest foods. Who can blame them?

I don't know. I know that the majority of patients on medicaid that come into my ER don't have a car. In the city where I live, the majority of big grocery stores are in the suburbs. There is one big grocery store on each side of the city. Unless you live right by those stores, you would have to take a bus to get there (if you didn't have a car). Most of the poorest people we see live in the inner city. While there are corner stores on every corner, their inventory is limited. So in my area, it is a problem.

I should also say that where I live, you go five miles in any direction and you are stepping in cow manure. In these outlying areas there are no grocery stores except for maybe a small green grocer store. Prices in these stores is usually higher than the big grocery stores. While most people in the outer lying areas have transportation, they still have to drive a ways to get the store.

I am curious why someone would not put a big store nearby if it was such a problem.
I work in a rather "poor" community and we have an Albertsons, Krogers, and Walmart.

Don't people get some kind of public transportation help when on assistance?
They don't have any friends that can drive them once a week to a bigger store?
The parents, grandparents brothers and sisters don't own cars either?

Ralphs markets have been purchased by Kroger.
Baldwin Hills is an area that historically housed wealthy Black people when it was legal to refuse to sell to minorities.

Therer are plenty of liquor stors and fast food places in South LA. I know doctors and NPs with an office there.

Residents, Union Workers To Protest Closure Of South LA Supermarket

June 13, 2013South Los Angeles residents, union members and community activists will rally Thursday to protest the expected closure of a Ralph's supermarket....

... Activists with the Community Coalition and other groups say the company has demonstrated "poor and unfair business practices" in the community, including allegedly selling rotten food and low-quality products.

The store on the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Western Avenue will close its doors on June 21, and local shoppers say they're going to miss it.
"I'm very disappointed because this has been in our community for a very long time," said one resident.

"This is an ongoing problem, particularly around food justice, and now there's a food desert in South Los Angeles," Terri Boysaw with Community Coalition said.
Ralphs spokeswoman Kendra Doyel said no jobs will be lost as the store moves into an expanded location at 5080 Rodeo Road in Baldwin Hills...

I am curious why someone would not put a big store nearby if it was such a problem.
I work in a rather "poor" community and we have an Albertsons, Krogers, and Walmart.

Don't people get some kind of public transportation help when on assistance?
They don't have any friends that can drive them once a week to a bigger store?
The parents, grandparents brothers and sisters don't own cars either?

I can't speak for other areas, but I can tell you a big factor in the inner city of Syracuse would be available real estate. There just isn't a lot of room to put a big grocery store in the inner city. There is also the issue of zoning, parking and overall cost.

What kind of public transportation assistance do you think they get? Yes, they get medicaid cabs to go to the hospital or return home from the hospital. Also they can get a cab to go to doctor appointments. That is it. The cabs are not even allowed to stop at the pharmacy. As I said, you can take a bus, but I how much can you actually carry. And not all bus routes run into the suburbs and if they do, you have to transfer downtown. Most of these people grew up in these areas, their families and friends are in the same boat as them. Not everyone has a family or friend with a car.

Are you really that unaware of the poor around you? You may live in a "poor" area, but do you live by a city with a high number of poor? Do you have any dealings with a lot of those on public assistance? I'm not just talking about one or two families, but when 50% of the people you deal with everyday are poor. No offense, but you seem to be really clueless to the problem.